Archinect - News

UK ends EU licensure reciprocity with new Architects Act 1997 amendments

2023-01-23T15:03:00-05:00

A pair of unprecedented changes to the UK’s Architects Act 1997 has been announced jointly by the British Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Architects Registration Board (ARB), ending the reciprocal acceptance of qualifications for EU-trained architects that has been observed since it was first established by Parliament.

Under the new guidelines, the UK will “end, in law, the automatic recognition of architectural qualifications listed in the EU’s Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications.” It will also enable the ARB to enter into “regular-led” recognition agreements with international counterparts, in effect leaving the door open for reciprocity agreements to be negotiated with professional bodies from other individual countries on a case-by-case basis.

This comes after the ARB finally hammered out a deal last year with the American National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) to ratify a Mutual Recognition Agreement that...

Brexit could force British Museum to return Parthenon Marbles to Greece

2020-02-18T18:39:00-05:00

As the United Kingdom works to strike new trade deals with Europe following Brexit, Greek authorities are using the occasion to try and negotiate a return of the country's long-lost Parthenon Marbles (also referred to as the Elgin Marbles).

Reuters reports that Greek officials have included new language supporting repatriation of the marbles in a document crafted by the 27 European Union nations that will envision the group's new economic and cultural relationship with the United Kingdom following its exit from the EU on January 31, 2020.

A detail view of the statuary. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Ejectgoose.

The document, according to Reuters, seeks the “return or restitution of unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin” and comes as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis makes a formal offer to British Museum authorities, where the marbles are currently held, to temporarily trade the Parthenon Marbles for a series of ancient Greek artifacts that "have...

“I can only look at the decision to leave the EU with disbelief”: Rem Koolhaas wants to show the EU's positive impact on Britain

2019-05-24T16:26:00-04:00

I am determined not to talk about Europe in terms of crisis or anxiety. I hope that the forces that allow Europe to continue developing constructively can coalesce and collaborate. But it would be foolish to make any predictions about what will happen next. For the first time in my life I don’t understand what is going on in Britain.

With all the uncertainty surrounding Britain's future, Rem Koolhaas recently shared his thoughts with The Guardian on how he watched the country improve when it first became part of the European Union. In light of the EU elections to encourage people to vote, Koolhaas took part in the Eurolab initiative to show how EU and Europe has made a positive impact on Britain. “As someone who experienced this transformation on a day-to-day basis I can only look at the decision to leave the EU with disbelief,” Koolhaas says.

Theresa May resigns: 'The country's left in limbo,' responds RIBA President Ben Derbyshire

2019-05-24T14:16:00-04:00

The news of British Prime Minister Theresa May announcing today that she would move out of 10 Downing Street on June 7, following a lengthy period of political disarray over the UK's post-Brexit future as well as criticism over her handling of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, did not come as an overwhelming surprise anymore.

RIBA President Ben Derbyshire most likely had his response, on behalf of the country's architecture industry, ready to go in his desk drawer for the past weeks, and the time to publicly release it had come now.

"The news that Theresa May will step down as Prime Minister leaves the country in limbo while the clock ticks down to the latest deadline of 31 October," comments Derbyshire. "While much is uncertain, one thing remains clear – a no deal is no option for architecture or the wider construction sector. Whoever becomes the next Prime Minister must focus on taking the country forward with policies beyond Brexit that tackle the major challenges facing the co...

'We believe there is no good Brexit:' British architects respond to impending EU withdrawal

2019-03-21T13:59:00-04:00

Just like manufacturing, architecture is dependent on international trade. British architects export their services, bringing back work and revenues, while a net influx of foreign architects fills offices: A fifth of the profession nationwide is foreign, and in London, a third, according to British architect Piers Taylor. Norman Foster, who heads Foster + Partners, more than 1,000 architects strong, said, “My practice absolutely depends on talent, and much of that talent is foreign.”

The Los Angeles Times details responses of leading British architects, including David Chipperfield, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, in the light of the looming March 29 deadline for the UK to officially leave the EU—if this Brexit happens without further delay.

"Chipperfield has emerged as architecture’s Churchill in the letter-writing campaign, as he has waged an eloquent, diplomatic campaign of letters to the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Guardian, among others," writes Joseph Giovannini for the LAT. "Like other 'remainers' who mainly argue staying in the EU in economic terms, Chipperfield does acknowledge the economic advantages of remaining, but he points out that commercial criteria and the myopia of money have crowded out the philosophical and political debate."

Last June, the AJ reported that prominent UK architecture firms, Foster + Partners and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, even considered leaving London for the European Union if Brexit meant a significan...

Paris Gare du Nord station to triple in size to prepare for Brexit and Olympics travel demands

2018-07-16T14:49:00-04:00

France’s rail operator SNCF has unveiled plans to triple the size of Paris’ Gare du Nord station in time for the 2024 Olympic Games. [...] The project, carried out in partnership with developer Ceetrus and architect Denis Valode of Valode et Pistre, will be the largest refurbishment of the station since it was built in 1864. When complete it should increase the capacity of Europe’s largest station from 700,000 to 800,000 people a day.

Image: Valode et Pistre.

Besides accommodating an increase in travel volume during the 2024 Olympic Games, the dramatic expansion of Paris' Gare du Nord terminus station is also preparing necessary spaces for new arrival procedures of British nationals in the post-Brexit era: (soon) no longer EU citizens, UK passengers arriving via the Eurostar train from London will have to undergo yet to be determined immigration and customs inspections. Since dedicated platforms have to be physically walled off from others—treating it like a national border—upgrading transportation facilities to meet the requirements of UK authorities has proven challenging at other European train stations, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Image: Valode et Pistre.

Construction of the Valode et Pistre-designed expansion is expected to be completed by 2024 in time for the Paris Summer Olympics.

Foster + Partners hints at possibility of leaving London over Brexit

2018-06-19T14:50:00-04:00

The UK’s largest practice, Foster + Partners, says it would consider moving its headquarters from London if Brexit meant it could no longer attract the world’s best architects [...] Less than a quarter of the architects based at Foster + Partners’ huge Battersea head office are UK nationals – with around a half from EU countries. In total, the firm employs 1,061 staff in the UK including 353 architects.

In an interview with The Architects' Journal, Foster + Partners managing partner Matthew Streets didn't rule out leaving London if attracting and employing "the globe’s brightest stars to maintain its position as world leaders" in a United Kingdom outside of the European Union became impossible.

The AJ also reports about similar Brexit-related workforce concerns from another UK architecture powerhouse, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

RIBA releases Brexit report indicating UK architects' growing concerns of the industry's future

2018-03-21T16:04:00-04:00

With one year left until Brexit, 2018 is a critical year for the UK architecture industry. Today, the RIBA released the latest results of their Global by Design report, a comprehensive survey of UK architects on Brexit. Although UK architects can adapt to next year's changes, RIBA describes, they also expressed growing concerns for the uncertain future of their industry in addition to the lack of clarity on the UK's future relationship with the EU.

RIBA surveyed their members between December 2017-January 2018. For starters, 71 percent of architects believe Brexit will have a negative impact on the built environment, compared to 60 percent in the 2017 survey.

The 2018 report also reveals that 68 percent of architects had projects put on hold, and more than 2 in 5 architects (43 percent) had projects cancelled since the EU referendum (in 2017, 61 percent had delays and 36 percent had cancellations). To add to that, 60 percent of EU architects considered leaving the UK since the refer...

Which architect would be best suited to design Boris Johnson's proposed Channel bridge?

2018-01-22T14:20:00-05:00

The clown king of novelty infrastructure fantasies has once again stolen the limelight with his preposterous plan for a 22-mile bridge across the Channel. [...] But none of this matters. In a world where Johnson got as far as flushing £37m of public money into the Thames on another fantasy project, the Garden Bridge, a great Channel crossing could easily be conjured into being.

The Guardian's architecture critic, Oliver Wainwright, responds to the former London Mayor's suggestion to build a 22-mile bridge across the Channel and physically connect the European Union with the brexiting island kingdom (on top of the already existing 31.35-mile Channel tunnel).

Let's just say, Wainwright isn't a fan and pens an angry roundup of prominent architects that either have designed other Johnson mega-visions, like Heatherwick's Thames Garden Bridge and Lord Foster's Thames Hub, or have a history of going over the initially proposed project budget a tad or a thousand.

Collapse of UK's second largest construction firm, Carillion

2018-01-16T15:22:00-05:00

A major British construction company is going into liquidation after failing to secure a financial lifeline. Carillion (CIOIF), which employs 43,000 people around the world, said in a statement Monday that rescue talks with stakeholders including the British government had collapsed. "We have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan, and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision," Carillion Chairman Philip Green said in the statement.

With thousands of workers in the UK and Canada, the construction company also builds high speed rail infrastructure, is involved in power distribution projects, and performs road maintenance, hospital management and other government services.

Carillion has hundreds of contracts with the UK government. It was reported to BBC that the government was working on a contingency plan since last year in preparation of Carillion's failure.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, commented, "It has been more than surprising, possibly even negligent, that the U.K. government continued to dish out contracts to Carillion even though their future has looked uncertain for some time."

Amanda Levete: the role of public buildings is to unite us

2017-09-19T15:16:00-04:00

There has never been a more important time in society to celebrate what unites us rather than divides us, and that can be through culture and, more simply, through the creation of public spaces where people can come together.

Amanda Levete reflects on the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump. She argues for the responsibility of architects to create spaces of intersections and conversations across thresholds in the contemporary political climate.

Foster + Partners plan redundancies due to uncertainty in the construction market

2017-04-25T05:17:00-04:00

Britain’s largest architectural firm, Foster + Partners, plans to lay off nearly 100 people, and blamed the uncertainty around construction projects caused by last summer’s Brexit vote. The company, whose London projects have included the Millennium Bridge, the Great Hall redevelopment at the British Museum and the Gherkin tower, said the cuts would mainly affect staff at its headquarters in Battersea, south-west London.

Fearing a drop in skilled workers, Brexit Britain looks to prefab housing

2017-03-16T15:01:00-04:00

The prospect of Brexit choking off the supply of EU workers is reshaping Britain's homebuilding industry, with big companies increasingly looking to factory-manufacture houses in sections that can be slotted together on-site with minimal labour. Many of Britain's leading housebuilders, including Berkeley, Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Your Housing, told Reuters they were either planning new developments of prefabricated homes or considering doing so.

"You can almost feel the fear among the contractors and housebuilders where they've been surviving on labor from outside the country," says Mark Stevenson, a managing director of construction supplier Kingspan. "We're being pulled in a direction that customers want us to go in, from more work from the building site into the factory."

Brexit-lash: RIBA announces 60% of U.K. architects have seen projects delayed/cancelled

2017-02-08T07:01:00-05:00

The effects of last summer's Brexit are starting to be measured within the architectural community, and they're dramatic: according to a press release issued by RIBA, in a survey of its members 40% of U.K.-based non British EU nationals are thinking about leaving the country, while 60% of RIBA's members have seen their projects delayed, cancelled, or just plain scaled back. The news isn't all grim: according to the survey, many members are trying to look on the bright side (or at least trying to identify the bright side). As RIBA notes:

From trade agreements with new markets, reform of the UK’s public procurement system and increased public sector and private sector investment, our members have made it clear that with the right decisions the short-term impacts of Brexit can be mitigated, and the UK can position itself as a global facing nation. In response to the concerns and opportunities raised by its chartered members, RIBA has today published a set of five priority recommendation...

As the UK and US shift rightwards, architects react

2017-01-17T12:38:00-05:00

The last year has seen a dramatic political shift to the right in the Western world (and elsewhere), marked in particular by Brexit and the election of Donald J. Trump. Alongside the former, the Tories secured a firm grip on the UK, with Prime Minister Theresa May stepping in to fill the void left after David Cameron’s departure. In the United States, the Republican party has an equally secure hold over the country and its future, controlling all three branches of government.

With this turn to the right, the built environment will undoubtedly change significantly. Cuts to government-subsidized housing are expected in both countries. Meanwhile, much-need infrastructural updates may—or may not—be on the horizon in the U.S., as they were one of the primary campaign promises of the President-elect.

Therefore, it’s not really a surprise that architects on both sides of the Atlantic have voiced opinions on the direction their countries are heading. Two architectural organizations have just ...

British Home Office may cut number of students visas issued for international students in half

2016-12-14T12:22:00-05:00

The Home Office is considering cutting international student numbers at UK universities by nearly half, Education Guardian can reveal. The threat is being greeted with dismay by university heads, who say some good overseas applicants are already being refused visas on spurious grounds. The home secretary, Amber Rudd, pledged a crackdown on international student numbers at the Conservative party conference in October, to include tougher visa rules for “lower quality” universities and courses.

But senior university sources are warning that the cutbacks could be far more severe than expected. They say they have seen Home Office plans that model slashing overseas student numbers, with one option to cut the current 300,000 to 170,000 a year.

For more on the culture of post-Brexit UK, follow these links:

Opinion: City life is 'out of sync' with the electoral systems that led to Trump and Brexit

2016-12-13T18:14:00-05:00

The very thing that makes modern cities vibrant and culturally dominant – increasing population density, and the atmosphere and networks that result from it – has left them politically under-represented. Meanwhile, the scattered and thinned-out populations of many struggling rural and small town areas distribute their voters through the British and American electoral systems much more efficiently.

Related on Archinect:

Construction of the 'Pinnacle' to continue despite referendum result

2016-10-27T14:12:00-04:00

Now known as 22 Bishopsgate – its address near Liverpool Street station – the building will be the tallest in London’s financial district and is being developed by AXA Investment Managers Real Assets. The building will be 278 metres tall, 10 metres lower than the original design that was first outlined almost 10 years ago. Construction came to a halt five years ago...but AXA IM said it had continued with the foundations and expected to complete the building in 2019.

Third runway at Heathrow gets the go-ahead

2016-10-25T12:30:00-04:00

Ministers approved the long-awaited decision at a cabinet committee meeting on Tuesday. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling called the decision "truly momentous" and said expansion would improve the UK's connections with the rest of the world and support trade and jobs. Although Heathrow has always been the favourite among businesses, it has attracted the most opposition from MPs with constituencies near the airport or under flight paths.

The expansion which had been publicly opposed by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Tory MP for Richmond Park, Zac Goldsmith and Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson has been widely debated for years.

Funded with private sector cash the new runway will cost £17.6 billion but provide 260,000 more flights with an estimated boost of £147 billion to the economy over 60 years. However, construction is unlikely to begin until 2020 at the earliest.

Read more about Heathrow and UK aviation projects here:

Engineering giant Arup announces imminent layoffs following Brexit vote

2016-09-26T17:27:00-04:00

Article 50 still hasn’t been triggered, but the fallout from Brexit is already impacting the UK and its economy. And, as many predicted, architecture isn’t immune to its effects. In one of the first major post-referendum announcements pertaining to the discipline, engineering giant Arup has stated that it will lay off up to 10% of staff at its London Buildings Division.

As reported by the Global Construction Review, the multi-disciplinary firm will cut some 90 jobs. Final decisions will be made by the end of next month. This falls in line with predictions that the construction industry will be among the hardest hit in the aftermath of the June 23rd decision. Uncertainty hovers over many big projects in the capital, such as the planned skyscraper known as the Pinnacle.

In an email sent to staff and quoted by the Global Construction River, Nigel Tonks, head of Arup’s Buildings London office, states: “We are seeing signs of delays in investment decisions, particularly in the commercial s...

UK Architects’ Workloads Expected to Decrease for the First Time Since 2012

2016-09-10T12:21:00-04:00

The RIBA Future Trends Survey predicts that UK architects’ workloads are expected to decrease for the first time since 2012.

The fall in positivity occurred in the month after the UK referendum on EU membership, with the confidence of practices falling, anticipating negatives consequences if the UK were to actually leave the EU. The results of this and previous trend surveys are published here: RIBA

Though the figures provided in the study are generalised, they are useful as a comparison and show that the fall appears to be quite significant; with a balance figure of -7 in July, compared to the +22 shown in June. (Values given are the balance figure; the difference between the practices expecting more work and those expecting less.)

As these are overall values, across the country results have differed. For example, London has predicted a workload decrease, whilst Wales and the West returned a positive balance figure of +14.

Practices participating in the RIBA survey confirmed that the p...

The V&A's Martin Roth on Brexit: 'Me-first mentality' spreading through Europe is 'brutal'

2016-09-09T11:04:00-04:00

Martin Roth, a German and director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, sees the result of the UK's referendum as a personal defeat.

One of the contributing factors for the V&A's director Martin Roth to leave the V&A was Brexit, he tells DW:

"Our international networks will not collapse, but their background is being questioned. Until now, we had assumed we were all working together towards a common platform. Now that platform has been smashed."

Although perhaps not the only reason Roth left, as The Guardian reports, such a high profile figure in the creative profession publicly announcing his distain for Brexit cannot have a positive impact on the UK's integrity as a leader in the creative arts.

Will Brexit kill £405B worth of infrastructure projects?

2016-08-03T19:57:00-04:00

Prime Minister Theresa May recently announced that the newly-formed government will delay making any decisions about building a major nuclear power plant—the first in a generation—until the fall.

Economists reacted with alarm to the announcement, according to Bloomberg, since the deferral raises doubts about the future of £405 billion worth of infrastructural projects. The infrastructural projects would both improve productivity and provide much-needed economic stimulation as the country faces the possibility of a major recession.

Before the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, the UK planned major energy and infrastructure projects meant to improve the country’s crumbling infrastructure. These included a high-speed rail from London to northern England and a major expansion of either Heathrow or Gatwick airports’ capacity.

Some economists question whether the UK could afford these projects at all, as the country’s economy and credit rating remain uncertain following Brexit. Still, sp...

Brexit means Brexit: architects Rob Hyde, Katy Marks and Mark Middleton on how Brexit could change UK-architecture (and how architects could change Brexit), on Archinect Sessions #74

2016-07-28T18:18:00-04:00

We're now about a month past the UK's historic 'Brexit' vote to leave the European Union, and, well, lots has happened. David Cameron stepped down as Prime Minister, and was replaced two weeks ago by fellow Conservative, Theresa May. The economy has drastically slowed down as the value of the pound against the dollar dipped to historic lows, and while there's plenty of gloomy prospects, there are even more unknowns.

To check in on how UK architecture is getting on, and it's sights for a post-EU future, we are joined by architects Rob Hyde (principal lecturer at the Manchester School of Architecture), Katy Marks (founder of Citizens Design Bureau), and Mark Middleton (partner at Grimshaw in London). We last spoke with Rob in our first Brexit check-in, "A Bit of Nervousness".

While the separation from the EU could be severe for UK architects—in particular its threat to the EU's "free movement" that entitles its members to live and work in any of its constituent countries—our guests were...

It's been one month since Brexit. How are you coping?

2016-07-28T15:24:00-04:00

On June 23rd, 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union. In the following month, the pound dropped 10% in value against the US dollar (the lowest since the 1980s), PM David Cameron resigned, Boris Johnson resigned, Nigel Farage too (not before insulting all of the European parliament), and the Labour party are squabbling like children.

After everyone else jumped ship, Theresa May now resides at No.10 and must deal with the aftermath of Brexit. With her new cabinet in place (we are still hoping Boris' appointment as Foreign Secretary is a joke) and the promise that Article 50 will not be triggered until the new year, what happens next?

Fill out our survey and tell us how Brexit has affected you already, and what you think the future holds for a UK outside of the EU.

Creative Currency, post-Brexit: Mark Middleton of Grimshaw weighs the good and bad for UK firms as split with EU looms, on One-to-One #30

2016-07-11T15:31:00-04:00

Mark Middleton, partner at Grimshaw in London, has been facing the Brexit decision's aftermath like many of his architecture-compatriots—with positive pragmatism. While prominent architecture and design professionals lent their support to the "Remain" campaign, they now have little choice but to #keepcalmandcarryon, while carefully reevaluating how ties with the European Union could affect business, as well as London as a design capital.

Middleton joined me on One-to-One to sort through the current mood for practitioners in the UK, and the effects Brexit could have on architecture projects and policy in the years to come.

Find more Brexit news here.

Listen to One-to-One #30 with Mark Middleton:

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Post-Brexit pessimism causes precautionary job losses

2016-07-09T04:05:00-04:00

With the construction industry expected to be the first casualty of Brexit, leading architecture firms in the UK Make, Sheppard Robson and BDP have already started to react to the uncertainties in the construction industry. In February of this year it was reported that housebuilding in the UK hit a seven-year high, as the construction industry was steadily recovering from the last recession. However, post-Brexit uncertainty has caused a crisis of confidence, prompting large firms to take precautionary measures against the loss of projects and a lull in construction.

It may seem as if optimism has been exchanged for pessimism by some big firms, however the actual impact on the architectural profession in the UK in the next few years remains open to speculation. Uncertainty based on assumptions could lead to a self fulfilling prophecy within the industry, as no one really know what will happen if the UK leaves the EU. Speaking to Dezeen, Simon Allford of AHMM respond states practically...

London, South of the River. A Personal Journey Before ‘Brexit’

2016-07-08T06:59:00-04:00

[...] during a visit some months before the Brexit vote, I armed myself with a detailed map and trolled all over South and Southeast London — a conglomeration of formerly independent villages, boroughs, towns and green spaces that have long since been incorporated into London [...] the neighborhoods that make up the great London patchwork quilt are ephemeral, especially now, as the immigrant communities of London wonder what the post-Brexit future will bring.

Read more about the effects of Brexit for architects on archinect:

Architects react to shocking EU referendum result

Property funds suspend trading in biggest seize-up since financial crisis

Creative Currency, post-Brexit

Post-Brexit pessimism causes precautionary job losses

After Brexit, “the priority for the government at this time will not be big sexy projects”

Property funds suspend trading in biggest seize-up since financial crisis

2016-07-08T03:25:00-04:00

Property funds worth £18 billion have stopped trading after Brexit sent a chill through the commercial property market. [...] The fear was that too many property investors would try to take their money out at once, forcing fund managers to sell properties at a loss. [...] The Bank of England has warned that the share prices of UK real estate investment trusts have fallen sharply following the referendum.

Read more about the effects of Brexit on archinect:

Creative Currency, post-Brexit

Post-Brexit pessimism causes precautionary job losses

After Brexit, “the priority for the government at this time will not be big sexy projects”

Architects react to shocking EU referendum result

After Brexit, “the priority for the government at this time will not be big sexy projects”

2016-07-01T18:26:00-04:00

Post-Brexit, the British government has turned into a real hot mess. The pound dropped to its lowest value against the dollar in 30 years ($1.31), and after Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation, Parliament is in turmoil and has yet to name a reliably likely successor. All this uncertainty has pulled some of the UK’s biggest projects into jeopardy.

As Global Construction Review puts it: “All the same, most Britons ended the week unsure 1) who will be in government in three months, 2) when a general election might happen, 3) when Article 50 will be invoked, triggering the formal two-year Brexit negotiation process, or even if 4) Article 50 would ever be invoked at all, given the chorus of voices, both in Parliament and among the general public, calling for a second referendum.”

In this atmosphere, Électricité de France is reconsidering its proposal to build a new nuclear power station in Hinkley Point, and the drop in the pound’s value has led to concerns that the UK c...